Not Quite a Gryffindor
by allthewaytothegraveyard
Summary: Written for the International Wizarding School Championship. All the Potters have always been in Gryffindor. So when Lily goes to Hogwarts, she's confident she will be too. But she gets a nasty shock when she is Sorted into the House she least expects...


**Title:** Not Quite a Gryffindor

**School:** Durmstrang

**Year:** 6

**Theme:** 12 Grimmauld Place

**Main Prompt:** [Character] - Lily Luna Potter

**Side Prompt:** [Song] - Dollhouse

**Special Rule:** Use a genre you've never used before - Family

**Word Count:** 2061

**AN:** some OoC, Albus was sorted into Gryffindor

**Warnings:** None

* * *

**Not Quite a Gryffindor**

Everyone knows Harry Potter. The Boy-Who-Lived, the Chosen One, the Savior. He defeated Voldemort twenty one years ago, and married Ginny Weasley two years after that. The Potters are the perfect poster family. All in Gryffindor, they shun Dark magic and anything associated with it.

Lily learned a long time ago to stay quiet about what happened at home. It was different, she knew, than what everyone else thought. The Potters may be perfect in the public eye, but they have their problems and they keep their secrets.

Her father is always working late. Sometimes, he doesn't come home from the Auror Office until past midnight. Lily used to wait for him, sitting on the stairs until he came home. She doesn't remember when she stopped waiting on the stairs, or listening for his footsteps. She knows now that it's pointless. She's accepted that this is how it is.

On bad days, her mother locks herself in her bedroom with a bottle of Firewhiskey. Lily knows those days. She knows to be careful. She and Albus and James stay in their rooms, because their mother is often angry, and they remember her punishments if they did anything wrong. Now, Albus and James have gone off to Hogwarts—both in Gryffindor, of course, because no Potter would be anything else—and there they are safe. But they still come back every summer. They can't escape their family, now or ever.

Lily is finally going to Hogwarts. She can finally get away from everything—her father's absence, her mother's drinking. She knows she will still need to be Lily Potter, never just Lily, but maybe she can make a friend. Maybe she can stop pretending, just a little bit. Lily boards the Hogwarts Express, waves to her parents like she is supposed to until the platform fades from view. Albus and James have gone off to find their friends, so she's all alone. It's a little scary, but exciting. She finds a compartment with only one girl in it—a first year, she guesses. _This is my chance_, she thinks, pushing open the door. "Hi, can I sit here?" she asks in her most cheerful voice.

The girl looks up quickly. "Go ahead," she says softly, then turns back to her book.

"What are you reading?" Lily questions curiously—the book looks old, and the girl is reading avidly. She isn't sure if she should have said anything, but wanted to at least try to make a friend.

The girl smiles a little. "It's about the history of Wizarding Britain. I think history is really fascinating, it's a pity the teacher is Professor Binns. My father says all he talks about is goblin wars, and no one can stay awake through his class anyway." She seems to think she's talking too much, and blushes, ducking her head.

"That's cool," Lily says. She means it. This girl seems interesting. "I'm Lily."

She hesitates, but says timidly, "I'm Angela."

Lily and Angela talk—well, Lily talks and Angela sometimes responds with one or two words—for half an hour. Lily finally convinces Angela to talk a little more, mostly about history and the book she is reading. The train ride passes quickly, and before they know it, they have arrived.

"Firs' years! Firs' years over here!" Lily hears Hagrid's booming voice and turns to Angela excitedly—only to realize she's disappeared. She shrugs and starts through the crowd, trying to get to the boats. Angela will turn up, and they can meet in the castle.

It's dark out, and she's distracted by the spectacular sight of Hogwarts, so she doesn't see Angela again until they entered the castle. Then she listens to the Headmistress, Professor McGonagall, explain what would happen. Once she finishes, Angela is out of sight again. The doors open immediately and the first years all enter.

Lily looks around in awe. The Great Hall is lit by hundreds of floating candles hovering over the students. She spots Albus and James, sitting at the Gryffindor table. She's going there, too. Of course she will.

She only half-listens to Professor McGonagall call names. When she hears her own, she walks up to the Sorting Hat and sits down. This will be quick.

_Don't be so sure_, the hat whispers to her. She rolls her eyes mentally. What does it think will happen? She's going to Gryffindor.

_Not quite a __Gryffindor_, the hat muses. _You don't quite have the... temperament for it. You're brave, yes, but creative and clever. No, definitely not __Gryffindor._

It feels like a bad dream. Lily thinks she knows where this is going, but prays that she is wrong. _Ravenclaw, then_, she thinks. Ravenclaw will be a disappointment for her parents, but not half as bad as...

"SLYTHERIN!" the Hat cries. _No._ No, this can't be happening. Lily stands mechanically and walks to the table with the students dressed in green. She barely registers the stunned silence, looking only at the shocked faces of her brothers. _Traitor_, they seem to say. She wants to look away, but can't force her eyes away from them. She's sat down at the end of the table. None of the other Slytherins seem to want to talk to her. She can't blame them, really. They are Slytherins, and she—she is too, isn't she? But she comes from the Potters, the golden family, and it separates them.

"Zabini, Angela," Professor McGonagall calls, and Angela sits on the stool. Lily gapes at her. _Zabini? _Her father has mentioned a Zabini once. They have gone to school together, although they didn't interact much. He was a Slytherin. That was one thing she remembered clearly. He may not have been a Death Eater, but he was a Slytherin and therefore a Dark wizard.

"SLYTHERIN!" the Hat shouts after a while. Angela walks over and sits next to Lily amid scattered applause. She gives a shy smile, but Lily does not return it. _Stinking Slytherin_, she thinks, turning away. She eats facing away from everyone, and eventually stands and follows the other Slytherins to the common room, noting the password. _Whomping Willow_. She pretty much ignores the prefects as she climbs the stairs and falls into her bed, closing the curtains. Maybe she'll wake up tomorrow, and it will all have been a bad dream.

* * *

When Lily wakes up, she is confused to see green hangings around her bed—then yesterday's events start flooding back to her. She sits up, rubbing her eyes, and looks around. The dorm is deserted, which confuses her until she sees that breakfast is almost over. She dresses hurriedly and rushes down to the Great Hall in time to get her schedule from her Head of House. She eats quickly, ignoring her Housemates around her, and goes to class.

* * *

It's been a week since the Sorting, and school is going well. Charms is fun, Potions is interesting, Herbology is a bit difficult, but overall Lily is enjoying Hogwarts. She sees Angela in the halls sometimes, and in their dorm, but they don't talk. Lily is starting to regret being rude to her at the feast, and decides to apologize. After all, she thinks, Angela doesn't look like a Dark witch.

Classes are over, and the halls are deserted. Lily catches up with Angela, who seems to be headed towards the library.

"Angela!" she calls. "Can I talk to you?"

Angela looks at her emotionlessly. Lily hates that she has to apologize, she doesn't quite know how—but Angela is giving her a chance, and that's something.

"I'm really sorry I was rude to you at the Welcoming Feast. It's just that—well, Slytherins are supposed to be bad, and my dad said your dad was a Slytherin too, so I thought you would be Dark—" She stops. She knows she's talking too much, but she wants Angela to understand.

Angela is looking at her, not saying anything. With every passing second, Lily feels herself shrink under the other girl's gaze. Finally, Angela speaks. "Not all Slytherins are bad, you know."

Lily is confused. Angela must be wrong, because there's no way her parents are. "But all Dark wizards come from Slytherin!"

"That's not true!" Angela looks angry now, and Lily is afraid she's messed up again. "You know the story of Peter Pettigrew, right? He was a Gryffindor, but he betrayed his friends. He's just one example of countless others. And Merlin was a Slytherin, and he wasn't Dark." She stops walking, and spins to face Lily. "Our traits are 'cunning and ambitious', not 'Dark and blood-purist', despite what Gryffindors think."

Lily nods, because she doesn't want to make Angela mad, but she considers the idea as they walk to the library. It's true that some Slytherins weren't Dark or blood purists. It's also true that Pettigrew worked for Voldemort. She never really thought about it before, assuming it was a rare occurrence. But now Angela is arguing against what she's always believed, and the worst part is she's starting to agree.

* * *

It's been a few days since Lily and Angela became friends. She's realized that the Slytherins aren't all that bad, and even made friends with the other girls in their dorm. Now Albus and James are standing in front of her, looking intimidating. They pull her into an empty classroom and Albus locks the door.

"We need to talk," James announces. Lily must look confused, because he continues. "About your Sorting."

She really should have seen this coming.

"What about it?" she asks, crossing her arms. It's useless to argue, but she can't possibly get into more trouble than she already has.

"You're a Slytherin," Albus states.

"Oh, really? I had no idea," Lily says sarcastically.

"This is serious! You're in _Slytherin_. Do you even know what will happen, now that Harry Potter's daughter is in the House of Dark wizards?"

Lily snaps. "I know! I know exactly what will happen. I know Mum and Dad will hate it. I know the _Prophet_ has already printed an article about how I'm 'betraying my family', and it'll happen again. I know all of this because it's what we've always learned, and it's exactly what I didn't want to happen. I didn't ask to be in Slytherin."

Her brothers look a little more sympathetic, but James is unrelenting. "What are you going to do, then?" he asks.

"Nothing."

"What?"

"I'm not going to do anything right now. I'm going to enjoy Hogwarts and spend time with my friends, and when we get home, I'll deal with whatever happens. As soon as I'm of age, I'm leaving."

Albus shakes his head. "That's in six years. You'll never manage this summer, let alone six of them."

"I'll have to. It's my only choice." Lily knows what will definitely happen. She's trying not to think about it. But there's really nothing she can do to stop it.

"We can't do anything to help," James adds.

"James!" Albus says.

"I know," Lily interrupts. "It's not your problem and you shouldn't risk yourselves. I'll deal with it, like I said." Her brothers don't like it, but they don't argue. They all know she's right.

* * *

The Hogwarts Express pulls into the station. Lily sees her parents waiting and takes a deep breath. She gets up and leaves the train, waving to Angela. Her parents say nothing when she approaches them. Her mother grips her shoulder tightly and steers her towards the archway that leads out of Platform 9¾. She can already tell this is going to be a long summer.

When she gets home, she stays in her room. Her mother is angry, and her father is too, but she clings to the prospect of another year at Hogwarts—and finally, freedom—to get her through the long months.


End file.
